Integrated motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly

ABSTRACT

A motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly includes a body defining a member of a motor vehicle frame, the body including an aperture having edges. A module is positioned at the aperture, the module defining a load bearing portion of the body replacing a load bearing capability of a body portion removed to define the aperture. Multiple connecting arms extend from the module and beyond the edges of the aperture to support the module on the body, including a first, second, third and fourth connecting arm. Each of the connecting arms is connected to the body using a fastener. Multiple connecting members integrally connect a first reinforcement member surrounding the aperture to a second reinforcement member. The multiple connecting members allow the first and second reinforcement members to be simultaneously co-molded in a single injection molding shot of a polymeric material.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/405,590 filed Jan. 13, 2017, the subject matter of which isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The invention relates generally to a rear speaker mounting shelf for amotor vehicle with components attached thereto.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute priorart.

In common motor vehicle rear speaker mounting shelf structures, a singleplate or multiple plates of steel material are joined typically bywelding or fastening to outer frame structure of the vehicle, which arealso commonly made of a steel material. Steel material is used for knownspeaker mounting shelf structures to provide structural strength tosupport features such as the loads imparted from rear seat beltretractors, seat back latches, deck lid hinges, speaker and wooferattachments and the like. Attached items add weight, torsion load, andother structural loads incorporated into the structural design by addingstiffness or thickness to the plate, which therefore adds cost andweight to the design.

Items attached to known speaker mounting shelf structures are not reliedon for structural strength, stiffness or to reduce weight of the shelfstructure. This field can therefore benefit from improved rear speakermounting shelf structure designs.

SUMMARY

According to several aspects, a motor vehicle hybrid shelf assemblyincludes a body. A module spans a component relief aperture created inthe body. The module defines a load bearing portion of the bodyreplacing a load bearing capability of a removed body portion definingthe component relief aperture.

In one aspect, the module comprises a polymeric material.

In another aspect, the module includes connecting arms extending beyondan edge of the component relief aperture.

In another aspect, a fastener mechanically attaches each of theconnecting arms to the body.

In another aspect, the connecting arms include a first connecting arm, asecond connecting arm, a third connecting arm and a fourth connectingarm.

In another aspect, the module is a polymeric material molded by aninjection molding operation.

In another aspect, the module defines a first portion of an enclosureand includes at least one fastener receiving aperture for mechanicalattachment of an independently provided second portion.

In another aspect, the module is molded-in-place and defines a componentreceiving module.

In another aspect, multiple connecting members integrally connect afirst reinforcement member surrounding the weight reduction aperture toa second reinforcement member.

In another aspect, the connecting members allow the first reinforcementmember and the second reinforcement member to be simultaneouslyco-molded in a single injection molding shot of a polymeric material.

In another aspect, the module includes molded-in-place reinforcementmembers.

In another aspect, the module includes molded-in-place fastenerreceiving members.

In another aspect, the module defines a composite material.

According to further aspects, a motor vehicle hybrid shelf assemblyincludes a body formed of a metallic panel. Multiple modules areattached to the body each molded of a polymeric material. Each of themodules defines a first portion of an enclosure and includes at leastone fastener receiving aperture for mechanical attachment of anindependently provided second portion.

In another aspect, at least one of the modules spans a component reliefaperture created in the body.

In another aspect, the at least one module spanning the component reliefaperture defines a load bearing portion of the body replacing a loadbearing capability of a body portion removed to define the componentrelief aperture.

In another aspect, multiple connecting members integrally connect eachof the modules such that each of the modules are co-molded during asingle injection operation.

According to further aspects, a motor vehicle hybrid shelf assemblyincludes a motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly includes a body formed ofa metallic panel. Multiple modules attached to the body each molded of apolymeric material. At least one of the modules spans a component reliefaperture created in the body. The at least one module spanning thecomponent relief aperture defines a load bearing portion of the bodyreplacing a load bearing capability of a body portion removed to definethe component relief aperture. Each of the modules defines a firstportion of an enclosure and includes at least one fastener receivingaperture for mechanical attachment of an independently provided secondportion.

Further aspects, examples, and advantages will become apparent byreference to the following description and appended drawings whereinlike reference numbers refer to the same component, element or feature.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

FIG. 1 is a front left perspective view of a motor vehicle hybrid shelfassembly having a of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the hybrid shelf assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front left perspective view of a motor vehicle hybrid shelfassembly according to a further aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a bottom left perspective view of the motor vehicle hybridshelf assembly of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a bottom left perspective view of area 5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional bottom left perspective view taken atsection 6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a bottom left perspective view of area 7 of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is notintended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.

With reference to FIG. 1, a motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly isgenerally indicated by reference number 10. According to severalaspects, the hybrid shelf assembly 10 is a structural member of anexemplary motor vehicle frame 12 used in a motor vehicle (not shown).The hybrid shelf assembly 10 is connected for example by welding,fastening or riveting at a first end or side portion 14 to a firstmember 16 of the frame 12 and at an opposed second end or side portion18 to a second member 20 of the frame 12. The hybrid shelf assembly 10includes a main body 22 defining a formed plate made of a metalincluding aluminum or steel. The body 22 is formed for example by astamping and a cutting process and includes multiple integralreinforcing structures such as a front flange 24, a rear flange 26,multiple raised ribs 28, and the like. To facilitate fixing the firstside portion 14 and the second side portion 18 directly to the frame 12which is commonly a ferrous metal material such as steel, the first sideportion 14 and the second side portion 18 can be fixed by welding,fastening, or riveting. According to several aspects the first sideportion 14 and the second side portion 18 can also be formed of a metalmaterial such as steel or aluminum.

The body 22 supports multiple components such as a first speaker 30 anda second speaker 32. A component relief aperture 34 is positionedbetween the first speaker 30 and the second speaker 32, which will bedescribed in greater detail in reference to FIG. 2. The body 22 may alsosupport other items such as but not limited to seat belt retractionsystems, wiring harnesses, tubing, ventilation components or ducting,and the like. One or more reel housings 36 can be fixed to the frontflange 24, which are used to retract and store seat belts such as afirst rear seat belt 38, a second rear seat belt 40, and a third rearseat belt 42. The front flange 24 and the body 22 are therefore designedto incorporate the stress and loading induced by the various seat belts,as well as the components supported by the body 22. The rear flange 26is connected to a rear cowling 46 at a junction with a rear window ofthe vehicle (not shown) such that the body is positioned proximate tothe rear window of a motor vehicle. In addition to the use of a lightweight metal such as aluminum to minimize weight of the body 22,multiple reinforcement members 48 of a polymeric material are integrallyconnected to the body 22 at various locations, such as where loading andvibration is induced by the weight of the speakers. According to severalaspects, a material of the reinforcement members 48 applied in anover-molding process defines a glass fiber reinforced material.

Referring to FIG. 2 and again to FIG. 1, the hybrid shelf assembly 10provides the component relief aperture 34 positioned between a firstaperture 50 positioned to receive the first speaker 30 (shown anddescribed in reference to FIG. 1) and a second aperture 52 positioned toreceive the second speaker 32. A component receiving module 54 of amolded polymeric material is positioned between the first aperture 50and the second aperture 52. The component receiving module 54 can beused to house a component such as an electrical component (not shown),which can include items such as a computer used for example forautonomous driving control. To reduce a total weight of the hybrid shelfassembly 10, the component relief aperture 34 is sized larger than thecomponent receiving module 54, except where connecting arms of thecomponent receiving module 54 extend beyond the edges of the componentrelief aperture 34. The connecting arms include a first connecting arm56, a second connecting arm 58, a third connecting arm 60 and a fourthconnecting arm 62. The component receiving module 54 is fixed to thebody 22 for example using fasteners 64 individually extending througheach of the connecting arms and the body 22.

With continuing reference to FIG. 2 and again to FIG. 1, in order toprovide structural reinforcement for the body 22 where the componentrelief aperture 34 is located, the structural loads normally carried bythe body 22 are transferred through and therefore designed to be carriedby the component receiving module 54. Because the component receivingmodule 54 will necessarily be provided, a net weight savings is achievedby eliminating the portion of the body 22 at the component reliefaperture 34 and carrying the structural load of the body 22 where thecomponent relief aperture 34 is created at least in part via thecomponent receiving module 54. The component receiving module 54therefore defines a load bearing member or portion of the hybrid shelfassembly 10 replacing a load bearing capability of the portion of thebody 22 removed to define the component relief aperture 34.

Referring to FIG. 3 and again to FIGS. 1 through 2, according to severalaspects, a motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly 66 is modified from themotor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly 10, with common componentsidentified using an apostrophe symbol. The motor vehicle hybrid shelfassembly 66 includes a shelf 68 located between the first speaker 30′and the second speaker 32′ which includes multiple weight reductionapertures 70, 72, 74, 76. The multiple weight reduction apertures 70,72, 74, 76 replace the single component relief aperture 34 shown anddescribed in reference to FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 4 and again to FIGS. 1 through 3, according to severalaspects advantage can be taken of the multiple weight reductionapertures 70, 72, 74, 76 without the use of the fasteners 64 ormechanical connectors used to mount the component receiving module 54.According to these aspects, the motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly 66provides for one or more molded-in-place component receiving modules 78.Polymeric material is supplied in an injection mold via one or moreconnecting members 80, which for example integrally connect a firstreinforcement member 82 surrounding the weight reduction aperture 72 toa second reinforcement member 84 surrounding the weight reductionaperture 76. The connecting members 80 also provide an added benefit ofallowing the component receiving modules 78, the first reinforcementmember 82, and the second reinforcement member 84 to be simultaneouslyco-molded in a single injection molding “shot” of polymeric material,which reduces molding injection time, and reduces mold cost by reducingthe quantity of molding gates required.

According to several aspects, the component receiving module 78 definesa first half of an enclosure prior to the electrical component beinginstalled, and prior to a separately molded cover (shown and describedin reference to FIG. 6) being connected to the component receivingmodule 78. According to further aspects, the component receiving module78 defines a rectangular shape, however, any desired geometric shape canbe provided. The component receiving module 78 can includemolded-in-place reinforcement members 86, and can further includemolded-in-place fastener receiving members 88 which can be used wheninstalling the cover. In addition to the component receiving module 78,additional component receiving modules can also be co-molded at the sametime, which can include a second component receiving module 90 and athird component receiving module 92. Any or all of the componentreceiving modules 78, 90, 92 can be incorporated as a load bearingmember of the motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly 66, and thereforeprovide structural reinforcement where weight reducing apertures areincorporated.

Referring to FIG. 5, and again to FIG. 4, each of the fastener receivingmembers 88 includes a blind bore 94 which according to several aspectsdefines a threaded bore adapted to receive a threaded fastener used tofix a separately provided cover (shown and described in reference toFIG. 6) onto the component receiving module 78. According to furtheraspects, the blind bore 94 can also be adapted for use as a snap-fit,self-threading, riveted, or similar mechanical connection. The componentreceiving module 78 further includes a first flange 96 and a secondflange 98 fixed to a first outer wall 99. The first flange 96 and thesecond flange 98 are adapted to releasably retain and mount the cover,and can rotatably receive a hinge member connected to the cover to allowthe cover to rotate between open and closed positions.

Referring to FIG. 6 and again to FIGS. 4 through 5, the fastenerreceiving members 88 are co-molded during the molding process to asecond outer wall 100 of the component receiving module 78. Opposedthird and fourth outer walls 102, 104 are oriented substantiallyperpendicular to the first outer wall 99 and to the second outer wall100. Each of the walls is integrally co-molded and therefore fixed to abase member 106 which defines a substantially planar surface 108. Aportion of an exemplary cover 110 which can also be made of a polymericor a composite material is independently provided for mechanicalattachment to the component receiving module 78 is shown. The componentreceiving module 78 defines a first half or portion of a componentreceiving member and the cover 110 defines a second half or portion ofthe component receiving member when mechanically attached to thecomponent receiving module 78.

Referring to FIG. 7 and again to FIG. 6, each of the component receivingmodules 90, 92 also includes at least one of the fastener receivingmembers 88 which are also adapted to receive a cover similar to orsmaller than the cover 110 (partially shown in FIG. 6) using at leastone fastener. According to several aspects both of the componentreceiving modules 90, 92 are substantially collinearly arranged andseated against a planar surface 112 of the body 22, however any desiredorientation of the component receiving modules 90, 92 can be used.

According to several aspects, a motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly 10includes a body 22 formed of a metallic panel. Multiple componentreceiving modules 54, 78, 90, 92 are attached to the body 22 each moldedof a polymeric material. At least one of the component receiving modules54 spans a component relief aperture 34 created in the body 22. The atleast one component receiving module 54 spanning the component reliefaperture 34 defines a load bearing portion of the body 22 replacing aload bearing capability of a body portion removed defining the componentrelief aperture 34. Each of the component receiving modules 54, 78, 90,92 defines a first portion of an enclosure and includes the at least onefastener receiving aperture or blind bore 94 for mechanical attachmentof an independently provided second portion or cover 110.

It is noted that items identified herein as being formed using aninjection molding process of a polymeric material can also be providedfrom other polymeric forming processes, and can further be provided as acomposite material such as a carbon fiber material. A motor vehiclehybrid shelf assembly 10, 66 of the present disclosure offers severaladvantages. These include having component receiving modules positionedat apertures formed in the body with the component receiving module ormodules carrying a portion of the shelf assembly structural load wherethe aperture is positioned and therefore incorporated into thestructural load analysis and design of the shelf assembly. Motor vehiclehybrid shelf assemblies 10, 66 of the present disclosure thereforereduce an overall weight of the shelf assembly by use of a polymeric orcomposite material for the one or more component receiving modules,which is approximately the same weight or lighter in weight than aweight of the plate material removed to create each aperture. Componentreceiving modules of the present disclosure are co-molded during moldingof other features of the shelf assembly, and further are provided withindependent covers, allowing the shelf assembly to be completed up tothe point of component installation prior to shipment to the installingactivity.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature andvariations that do not depart from the gist of the invention areintended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations arenot to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

The following is claimed:
 1. A motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly,comprising: a body defining a member of a motor vehicle frame; and amodule spanning a component relief aperture created in the body, themodule defining a load bearing portion of the body replacing a loadbearing capability of a body portion removed defining the componentrelief aperture; wherein the module includes connecting arms extendingbeyond an edge of the component relief aperture.
 2. The motor vehiclehybrid shelf assembly of claim 1, wherein the body includes a weightreduction aperture and the body.
 3. The motor vehicle hybrid shelfassembly of claim 2, further including multiple connecting membersintegrally connecting a first reinforcement member surrounding theweight reduction aperture to a second reinforcement member.
 4. The motorvehicle hybrid shelf assembly of claim 3, wherein the connecting membersallow the first reinforcement member and the second reinforcement memberto be simultaneously co-molded in a single injection molding shot of apolymeric material.
 5. The motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly of claim1, wherein the module defines a first portion of an enclosure andincludes at least one fastener receiving aperture.
 6. The motor vehiclehybrid shelf assembly of claim 5, further including an independentlyprovided second portion wherein the at least one fastener receivingaperture receives a fastener for mechanical attachment of the secondportion to the first portion.
 7. The motor vehicle hybrid shelf assemblyof claim 1, wherein the module is comprised of a polymeric material. 8.The motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly of claim 1, further including afastener mechanically attaching each of the connecting arms to the body.9. The motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly of claim 1, wherein theconnecting arms include a first connecting arm, a second connecting arm,a third connecting arm and a fourth connecting arm.
 10. The motorvehicle hybrid shelf assembly of claim 1, wherein the module is apolymeric material molded by an injection molding operation.
 11. Themotor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly of claim 1, wherein the module ismolded-in-place and defines a component receiving module.
 12. The motorvehicle hybrid shelf assembly of claim 1, wherein the module includesmolded-in-place reinforcement members, and wherein the module includesmolded-in-place fastener receiving members.
 13. The motor vehicle hybridshelf assembly of claim 1, wherein the module defines a compositematerial.
 14. The motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly of claim 1,wherein the body is positioned proximate to a rear window of a motorvehicle.
 15. A motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly, comprising: a bodydefining a member of a motor vehicle frame, the body including acomponent relief aperture having edges; a module positioned at thecomponent relief aperture, the module defining a load bearing portion ofthe body replacing a load bearing capability of a body portion removedto define the component relief aperture; and multiple connecting armsextending from the module and extending beyond the edges of thecomponent relief aperture.
 16. The motor vehicle hybrid shelf assemblyof claim 15, wherein the component relief aperture is sized larger thanthe module except where the connecting arms extend beyond the edges ofthe component relief aperture.
 17. The motor vehicle hybrid shelfassembly of claim 15, wherein structural loads of the body aretransferred through and carried by the module and the connecting arms.18. The motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly of claim 15, wherein themodule defines a component receiving module housing an electricalcomponent.
 19. A motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly, comprising: a bodydefining a member of a motor vehicle frame, the body including anaperture having edges; a module positioned at the aperture of the body,the module defining a load bearing portion of the body replacing a loadbearing capability of a body portion removed to define the aperture;multiple connecting arms extending from the module and extending beyondthe edges of the aperture to support the module on the body, including afirst connecting arm, a second connecting arm, a third connecting armand a fourth connecting arm, each of the connecting arms connected tothe body using a fastener; and multiple connecting members integrallyconnecting a first reinforcement member surrounding the aperture to asecond reinforcement member, the multiple connecting members allowingthe first reinforcement member and the second reinforcement member to besimultaneously co-molded in a single injection molding shot of apolymeric material.
 20. The motor vehicle hybrid shelf assembly of claim19, wherein the module and the connecting arms are comprised of apolymeric material.